Daily Times

On Tuesday, the federal government finally constituted the long-awaited Abbottabad Commission to investigate the events surrounding “intelligence lapses” and al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s death. The five-member commission, as announced, will be headed by Justice Javed Iqbal. The other four members include Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, Lt-General (retd) Nadeem Ahmad, former ambassador Ashraf Jahangir Qazi and former IG Abbas Khan. The commission is mandated to determine the facts surrounding the presence of Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil, investigate and ascertain the facts regarding the operation conducted by the US on May 2 in Abbottabad, find out if there were any security lapses and what led to them and finally, make its recommendations. The formation of the commission after a delay of more than two weeks is nevertheless a welcome step. Unfortunately, as is usual with this government, it did not take others on board in finalising the names of the commission’s members.

Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim has excused himself from being a part of the commission, as the opposition was not taken on board. PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has strongly criticised the government for making a unilateral decision. He said that it is a disgrace to parliament that after a resolution to this effect was passed in a good spirit, the government decided to take everything in its own hands rather than consult anyone else. Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar also expressed his reservations and said that he was not consulted. Justice Javed Iqbal revealed that he only found out about his name as head of the commission through the media. Justice Iqbal is ready to accept the nomination as he would be serving the nation but said that after the notification, seeking the consent of the Chief Justice is a necessary administrative process. All this shows the government’s highhandedness and lack of wisdom in forming the commission. It is surprising that the members of the commission were not even asked if they would like to be part of it or not. The PML-N, which rejected the military commission and was vocal about seeking a judicial commission and later agreed to an independent commission, was not even consulted when the names of the members were being finalised. It is imperative that the government and the opposition sort out their differences on the formation of the commission as quickly as possible so that it can start its designated task.

The commission must be fully empowered to call on everyone, including high military officials without whom they cannot even start the investigation process. It would set a good precedent and show that the armed forces are not above the law. The cocoon of impunity that surrounds our armed forces must come to an end. If General Pasha, DG ISI, can come to parliament for an in-camera session and virtually surrender himself, then in this same spirit, any official of the armed forces should be made available to the commission. The level of cooperation by the military would show how serious it is in actually getting to the bottom of what happened on May 2 and how it happened.

May 2 was an embarrassment for the whole country. If anyone was complicit in hiding OBL, they should be penalised for this grave crime and the findings of this report must be made public. Granted that some things might be too sensitive to reveal because of national security, but the rest of the report should be shared with the nation. The whole process should be transparent and open. The Pakistani nation asked some tough questions of our armed forces after May 2. They now await honest answers.*